I'm not exactly sure how many different HDD Enclosures there are on the market, but in order to catch the eye of the consumer you have to do a couple of things. First, you need a flashy product with a unique design, and you should also have performance and features that back it up. Thermaltake is a company that pumps out a lot of products in a year, and they do this because they have a well established design team and are constantly improving upon their products. Today we are looking at the Thermaltake VI-ON 3.5" External HDD Enclosure with Active SMART Cooling. This product differs from other HDD Enclosures as Thermaltake claims SMART capability to read drive temperature and cool accordingly. We'll see if it works and what kind of performance to expect out of this dual interface enclosure.

Package & Contents:

The VI-ON comes in a very attractive box and will get the attention of most consumers that like to have flashy, sleek products in their workspace. The front of the box shows the VI-ON in all its glory and the motto "Set It Free". We'll see just how "free" the drive is in a few minutes. One thing I'm happy to see is a fairly comprehensive list of specifications on the box. This will help the consumer understand what he is getting and why this enclosure may be priced higher than other simple USB enclosures.

VI-ON Box Specs

The VI-ON comes with everything you need to get plugged in and running. If you don't have an eSATA connection on your computer, the VI-ON will still work as it has USB2.0 connection options. It includes USB and eSATA cables, a power adapter, dusting cloth and enough documentation to get the drive installed and the whole unit up and running.

VI-ON Bundle

VI-ON Base

One thing that sets the VI-ON apart from other enclosures is its looks. The main unit is pretty sleek, but the tilted base with exhaust air port is what really defines the appearance of the unit. Thermaltake has included rubber feet for the main unit if you don't want to use the base, but when it's all put together it looks like something out of Pixar's Robots movie.

VI-ON Profile

On the next page we'll take a close look, open it up and install a drive before we test it out.